This week all teachers were required to submit our ePortfolios: documentation of our annual SMART goals, Self-Assessments, Self-Reflections and Professional Development Learning Opportunities.
I have spent several hours typing up these documents and put so much effort into the writing of them that I figured they should be shared in this unofficial "portfolio" of my life and work as well. I am quite proud of all the work I have achieved this year as a teacher. I consider myself to be quite an introspective person and have taken great care to write in as much detail as possible about the mental processes and emotions I went through this past year. Though I have not been keeping up this blog as frequently as I would have liked, it is my hope that the following "official" reports will supplement my more personal posts in such a way as to paint an even clearer picture of myself and the growth and progress I have made this year.
The following responses and excerpts represent several hours worth of a third year teacher reflecting upon her experiences teaching at an international private school for the first time.
INDIVIDUAL LEARNING GOAL PLAN
SMART Learning Goal:
As an AIS-R new hire, I was told that my SMART Learning Goal this year was to familiarize myself with AIS-R's mission and policies. I aimed to plan and design classroom lessons that fulfilled all the requirements of the AIS-R curriculum and embodied AIS-R's living mission. I identified numerous aspects and qualities of AIS-R's program that I could use in my planning and teaching such as engaging with my students and fueling their inquisitive and curious internationally-shaped minds through in-depth analysis and discussion of relevant and pertinent world issues. I aimed to implement numerous teaching strategies and methods in my classroom in order to fulfill this professional goal. The domain and components of the Framework for Teaching which I believe will help me achieve my goal are Domain 4: a) "Reflection on Teaching", c) "Communicating with Families", d) "Participating in a professional community" and e) "Growing and developing professionally" These four components under domain 4 I believe to be the most essential in terms of helping me connect and better integrate myself and my learning in the AIS-R community at large.
How will you achieve your I.L.G.P?
I will attend every AIS-R faculty meeting and professional development learning opportunities in order to strengthen my bonds with my colleagues and deepen my knowledge and understanding of AIS-R's professional policies, procedures and curriculum. I am particularly driven to better understand TFU (Teaching for Understanding) and learn how to actively use it in my classroom. I will take advantage of as many professional learning opportunities as possible such as Un-Conferences and NESA workshops to further my learning. I will work and collaborate with my colleagues in the HS English department to familiarize myself with their policies, habits and procedures in order to be acclimate and integrate myself into their already successful community. I will know that I have reached my goal when I have gained confidence in implementing AIS-R policies, curriculum and learning.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IB English Literature: Category 1 Training
David Cisek
Summer 2012
The focus of this session was to train me to teach the IB English Literature Curriculum. I was taught about the IBO program in general and then I was re-introduced to the basic syllabus and structure of the IB English Literature curriculum.This summer workshop supported my professional learning goals by helping me to advance my learning and providing me with the essential tools to be a successful and effective English teacher.
I learned about the new changes that have affected the IB English Literature curriculum and I familiarized myself with the various types of assessments required by the IB that I must prepare my students for throughout the year. I was taught various ways in which to present and teach material to my students. I worked with my peers to devise theoretical lesson plans and a unique syllabus for my own classroom. I exchanged strategies and ideas with my peers about ways to effectively communicate the aims and objectives of the IB while constantly engaging students' interest and preparing them to be successful on their IB exams.
My students will benefit from my learning because my confidence in my ability to teach IB English will radiate to my students and will allow them to feel safe and secure in their learning. They will be supported in their academic endeavors and risk-taking. My students will benefit from my own personal experiences with IB English because it provides me with a greater understanding of their own fears/insecurities and struggles with the material and allows me to be able to offer them compassionate as well as useful "tried and true" strategies/feedback to help them succeed.
"Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys" (NESA Conference, Bangkok)
Dr. Michael Thompson
Spring 2013
The focus of this session was to discuss some of the major issues and concerns that both teachers and parents face with male students. Dr. Thompson made accessible his more than 20 years experience of illuminating research about gender equity in schools; in particular the way that boys are impacted. He drew attention to the specific ways in which boys develop and formulate their personal as well as educational life experiences. He also asked each of us to focus our learning around one boy in particular that challenged us in our teaching practice. This allowed us to root our questions in reality and filter our knowledge to apply relevant and useful applications of his research.
I learned so much in this short four-hour workshop. I learned that due to the fact that I am a strong female, I am naturally bias against my male students. My lessons are designed through the lens of my educational experiences and successes as a female and those do not necessarily transfer into successful or meaningful experiences for my male students. In addition, this workshop opened up my eyes to how boys feel as adolescents. The amount of pressure put on them by society is astronomical and boys tend to manage their stress/anxiety in very different ways from girls. Just because a young man is violent/aggressive does not necessarily mean that he is heartless or emotionless, on the contrary...his deep complex emotions could be the very reason he is behaving so cruelly and apathetically.
My students will benefit greatly from the knowledge I attained in this workshop because the information I absorbed from Dr. Thompson has allowed for me to reflect more deeply on my teaching practice and about the ways in which I approach education in general. I realize that I need to give my male students more attention, patience and understand and strive even more diligently to create lessons and opportunities for them that will play upon their strengths and give them a renewed sense of pride in their abilities to read and write. Boys are trained to feel inadequate in reading and writing (as a result of the fact that elementary schools compare them to their female counterparts who are developmentally much more advanced language acquirers at that precious age). With the knowledge I gained in this workshop, I have been inspired to take more care in fostering my male students' abilities to read and write and to provide them with more positive support and encouragement in order to combat the stereotypes against them.
"Does Gender Matter? The Neurobiology of Gender Differences in Learning and Language Disabilities" (NESA Conference, Bangkok)Dr. Susan Grant
Spring 2013
This session was designed to present the latest neuroscientific investigations, achievements and discoveries in learning and sex differences. This session addressed both gender and age as being two critical aspects of neurodevelopment that directly influence learning: "boys and girls behave differently because their brains are wired differently, and this can affect how they learn and when they learn best."
This workshop supports my goal of better understanding my students and learning about the ways in which I can be a better teacher by addressing their inherent differences in learning. This workshop inspired me to think about my bias as a female and the ways in which my teaching methods are more geared towards female-learning; I realize I need to do a better job at employing more differentiated learning strategies to appeal to male-learning strengths.
I learned that there are significant neurobehavioral differences between the ways in which boys and girls approach the world. I learned about how stereotypes about "girls being good with reading and boys being good with math" were formed and the ways in which our educational systems do not support the neurodevelopmental growth of children. Classroom structures and academic material, especially at the elementary school level, do not honor the different ways in which boys and girls are developing mentally.
I learned that most boys struggle with English because have been compared against girls from a young age (girls brains are hard-wired to develop language acquisition earlier and more quickly) and their sense of inadequacy with language stays with them well into their teenage years. I learned that I need to be more supportive of young men in their struggles to grasp language and reading fluency.
Having learned all this incredibly valuable information about neurodevelopmental learning differences between males and females, I feel as though I am now better equipped to design lessons that employ a variety of teaching methods and strategies that appeal to the different strengths of both boys and girls. This workshop inspired me to think about my natural bias as a female and the ways in which my teaching methods are more geared towards female-learning. I realize I need to do a better job at employing more differentiated learning strategies to appeal to male-learning strengths. My students will benefit from this more specific differentiated learning because they will be provided with more opportunities to succeed in my classroom as well as engage with the learning material.
"Powerful Technologies, Powerful Students" (NESA Conference, Bangkok)
Scott McLeod
Spring 2013
This session discussed the numerous ways in which children and adolescents are changing the world and making positive differences in their community through their innovative, creative and powerful uses of technology.The session encouraged teachers to reflect upon the ways in which our traditional teaching practices and ideologies may or may not be supporting our students' abilities to achieve success.
I learned that my personal fears about using technology prevent me from providing opportunities for my students to use technology to reach new heights in their learning and understanding. I learned that I am limited in my knowledge of technology and all the potential it holds. I learned that I need to open up my mind to new ways of thinking and using technology to further learning and my student's abilities to understand, connect with and transform the material I am required to teach them into meaningful experiences.
My students will be given more opportunities to achieve success and they will be able to do so in a variety of ways and methods that allow for them to personally connect with their academic material. In addition, my students will gain a greater sense of "pride in their work" since technology allows for students to communicate their thoughts and ideas beyond the classroom.
TEACHER REFLECTIONS
Reflections:
As a result of my SMART goal I learned that the AIS-R mission statement is not just an empty promise or stagnant poster on a wall, it is a living mission that inspires me to achieve excellence and constantly push myself to adapt new teaching practices, fuel my passions, engage with students and parents, deepen my knowledge and understanding of my subject and make a difference (not only within this small community, but within the world at large) My learning has significantly changed my practice. Prior to coming to work at AIS-R I was teaching at a Title I inner-city public school for behaviorally challenged high school students. As a young teacher, my main objective was merely "to survive". Due to the fact that my students were so unmotivated I found myself lowering my standards dramatically; it got to the point where I was thrilled if a student produced so much as a single paragraph in lieu of an essay (it was better than nothing, right?) Now that I am an AIS-R Eagle, I find myself constantly inspired to take my students to greater heights and challenge them to achieve success on multiple levels of learning. My own personal happiness and professional fulfillment here has allowed me to work harder than I ever thought imaginable. I am constantly looking for new and exciting ways to teach my students and create significant learning experiences for them To be honest, I'm not sure that my learning this year has significantly improved my student understanding. I have always had a natural gift and ability to connect with children and gain their respect and trust. The AIS-R community is very special and the types of children that attend this school are incredibly supported and motivated to achieve success. The most important thing I've learned this year from my students is that they are capable of so much more than many of us give them credit for. If we raise the bar and expect greatness, they will rise to the occasion.
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